In a fresh sign of its foot-dragging on deregulatory and other economic-reform efforts, Japan has rebutted a U.S. proposal to compile and submit a new joint progress report on investment issues to their top leaders later this month.
Government sources said Friday that the U.S. State Department asked Japan to compile the investment report on the basis of discussions at a March 1 symposium in Tokyo.
The symposium was organized by the governments of the two countries to address what the U.S. perceives as Japanese legislative, regulatory and other barriers to foreign investment. The aim was to make the Japanese economy more inviting to foreign investors.